Search

Valuing AMEX Membership Rewards Points - The Definitive New Zealand Guide

While Air New Zealand Airpoints Dollars are the most popular rewards card currency, we look at how AMEX points can be used through partner transfers, booking travel directly, getting statement credit or choosing store vouchers.
Updated 3 August 2024

Summary:
  • AMEX cardholders earn "Membership Rewards points" ("points") every time they spend on the AMEX Gold Rewards Credit Card and The Platinum Membership Rewards Credit Card, earning up to 2 points for every $1 spent. A handful of other cards earn 1 point for every $1 spent.
  • Once you've accumulated points, the Membership Rewards program offers many ways to redeem them. However, the value varies depending on how you redeem them. Some awards offer excellent value for money while others are not as rewarding.
  • Our guide explains where good value is found and where poor value can be avoided. We have published this guide to make the Membership Rewards program easier to understand so you can better evaluate whether it's right for you. While the American Express Platinum and Gold cards outperform the banks when it comes to rewards, they're not for everyone.

Our guide covers the following:
  1. Points Value When Booking Travel Through the AMEX Travel Portal
  2. Points Value When Transferring to Airline Frequent Flyer Program Partners and Hotel Programs
  3. Points Value When Converting Points to Dollars for Credit on Your Card
  4. Points Value When Converting Points for Vouchers, Gift Cards and Other Rewards
 
Value summary:
  • Our calculations assume you're using the AMEX Gold Rewards Credit Card or The Platinum Membership Rewards Credit Card, earning up to 2 points for every $1 spent (whereas a handful of other cards earn 1 point for every $1 spent).
  • Overall, if you transfer Membership Rewards points to an airline partner program, the value of a point can be as high as 3.95 cents (with specific awards with Qantas per our guide) and as high as 10.50 cents with certain hotels. However, if you transfer them to Air New Zealand Airpoints, 150 Membership Rewards points = 1 Airpoints Dollar, which means each point is worth around 0.67 cents – a big difference. And if you redeem points on statement credit or AMEX annual fees, the estimated value can be as low as 0.45 cents.
  • The value of each point varies; our research is published to clarify how to get the most value and bring transparency for cardholders to extract the highest level of rewards.
 
Overall, our estimated values per point are as follows:
  • Air New Zealand transfers: 0.67 cents
  • Other airlines and hotel partners: Around 2 cents to 10+ cents - AMEX points transfer to many programs; our dedicated 10+ Best Ways to Spend AMEX Membership Rewards Points explains more, as does our Credit Cards that Earn Business Class Flights.
  • AMEX Travel portal: 1 cent (when booking travel through American Express' travel portal).
  • Redeeming for statement credit: The value is around 0.45 cents to 0.52 cents (the more you redeem, the better the value). 
  • Redeeming for AMEX fees (such as card renewals): 0.50 cents (based on the flat rate of 1,000 Membership Rewards points equaling 5 dollars credit). 
  • Supermarket vouchers (0.625 cents - you have a choice of Countdown and New World)
  • Retail vouchers (0.625 cents - Bunnings, Farmers, Westfield, Ballantynes, Harvey Norman, The Warehouse, Torpedo 7
  • Petrol (0.625 cents - Z Energy)
  • Cinemas (0.625 cents - Event Cinemas and Hoyts)
  • Travel Agencies (Flight Centre 0.625 cents, Hello World 0.75 cents)

Why is there such a big difference in point value?

  • We don't know the answer, but it most likely concerns convenience. Converting to card credit is easy and in demand, so AMEX arguably requires more points than, for example, redeeming a New World or Z Energy voucher. 
  • Furthermore, it is easy to use points and book via the AMEX travel portal or apply points to statements for fees or credit. Building up enough points to reach a valuable flight award (with Singapore Airlines in particular) takes time, flexibility and initiative. This means you can get the most for your points if you're prepared to hunt for a deal. 
 
Know This: The AMEX Gold Rewards Credit Card and The Platinum Membership Rewards Credit Card earn up to 2 points for every $1 spent (whereas a handful of other cards earn 1 point for every $1 spent); even the most basic reward still earns at least 1% value. However, the sweet spot is spending enough to pay for a business class flight to Asia or Europe from Qantas, or use the points for five star resorts. If you can do this, Membership Rewards is a lucrative program that far exceeds anything else offered by any bank-issued credit card or loyalty program.

1. AMEX Points Value When Booking Travel Through the AMEX Travel Portal

The following assumes you have a card earning 2 points for every $1 spent:

The conversion is simple – 10,000 points = $75 of credit, which means each point is worth 0.75 cents.
 
For example, a $750 flight will cost 100,000 points. This means there's no way to maximise points with AMEX travel – each point is worth the same whether you book a cheap hotel or business class flights – your total travel costs will be deducted in points. 
 
Know This: If you don't have enough points to pay for a booking, the balance can be paid using your American Express Card. A minimum of 1,000 Membership Rewards Points is required per transaction.
 
Our view: Using points for Amex is an easy way to redeem points for everyday travel at a fixed rate well above the value of redeeming points for a statement credit. It's simple, convenient and fast – you just search, book and use the number of points you want. However, it's not nearly as lucrative as converting points to Singapore Airlines and redeeming them for premium flights.  
 
Know This: If you apply Membership Rewards points during checkout, the entire transaction amount is still billed to your card account (e.g. in NZD). American Express then reverses this cost by crediting the value of redeemed Membership Rewards points. This happens within three business days. For example, if you booked a hotel for $500 and used 40,000 points to cover $300, your card would be billed $500 until a $300 credit is applied within three business days.

2. AMEX Points Value When Transferring to Airline Frequent Flyer Program Partners and Hotel Programs

The following assumes you have a card earning 2 points for every $1 spent:

​We have researched airline and transfer options in detail and have summarised the key points here:
  • AMEX Reward Points can also be transferred to airline loyalty programs, offering fantastic value when redeemed for business class flights. Our shortlist of airlines and routes in our dedicated guide offer appealing transfer 'sweet spots' and therefore provide excellent redemption opportunities.
  • AMEX reward points can be transferred to other loyalty programs, and for hotels, the Marriott Bonvoy program offers exceptional value if redeemed correctly. Marriot Bonvoy has an impressive 1:1 transfer ratio, meaning every AMEX point translates to one Marriott Bonvoy point. 
  • The Marriott Bonvoy program, covering an extensive portfolio of hotels, including brands like Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis and more, allows you to redeem these points for free hotel nights. Especially advantageous is Marriott's promotion that gifts the 5th night free for any stay booked with points. This essentially enhances the value of your AMEX points. Our dedicated guide explains more.
  • Before transferring points to a partner program, you must research to ensure availability for the dates you want to travel and that taxes and surcharges (added by the airline) must be paid in cash. In addition, it's not uncommon for certain programs to offer excellent value but then limit award availability.
  • For these reasons, we suggest searching for award seat availability on your travel dates and destination before transferring points - you'll likely need to be flexible, especially around the American and European summer months. 

3. AMEX Points Value When Converting Points to Dollars for Credit on Your Card

The following assumes you have a card earning 2 points for every $1 spent:

​This is a simple way to redeem points, although the value is lower than other options. However, the more points you convert in one transaction, the higher the value of the points given and AMEX applies a bonus as outlined on their website.
​Credit
​ Points Required
​ Value Per Point
​$25
5,500 ​
​0.45 cents
​$50
​11,000
​0.45 cents
​$100
​22,000
​0.45 cents
​$250
​52,000
0.48 cents
​$500
​104,000
0.48 cents
​$1,000
​192,000
0.52 cents
Our view: The conversion of points to credit is simple, fast and convenient and is a true cash saving that is arguably valuable if you don't want to redeem any awards. While much better value is found elsewhere, card credit has its uses, and with popular AMEX cards earning 2 points for every $1 spent, the 'cashback' rate is around 0.9 to 1 cent (or 0.9% to 1% of spend).

4. AMEX Points Value When Converting Points for Vouchers, Gift Cards and Other Rewards

The following assumes you have a card earning 2 points for every $1 spent:

​AMEX offers a range of partner vouchers, including supermarkets, retailers, petrol, cinemas and travel agencies. 
 
The value is the same regardless of how many points you transfer, but the rewards are fixed amounts (e.g. $30, $50 and $100 vouchers). The options are:
  • Supermarket vouchers (0.625 cents - Countdown and New World)
  • Retail vouchers (0.625 cents - Bunnings, Farmers, Westfield, Ballantynes, Harvey Norman, The Warehouse, Torpedo 7)
  • Petrol (0.625 cents - Z Energy)
  • Cinemas (0.625 cents - Event Cinemas and Hoyts)
  • Travel Agencies (Flight Centre 0.625 cents, Hello World 0.75 cents)

Cards that earn American Express Membership Rewards Points

Highest Earning:
The American Express Gold Reward Card
Earn rate: $1 spent = 2 point
More details: The Gold Reward Card
The Platinum Card
Currently closed to new applications
The Platinum Membership Rewards Credit Card
Earn rate: $1 spent = 2 point
More details: The Platinum Membership Rewards Credit Card​
Lowest Earning:
The American Express Gold Card
Earn rate: $1 spent = 1 point
More details: The Gold Card
The American Express Green Card
Earn rate: $1 spent = 1 point
More details: The Green Card
The American Express Gold Credit Card
Earn rate: $1 spent = 1 point
More details: The Gold Credit Card
The American Express Blue Credit Card
Earn rate: $1 spent = 1 point
More details: The Blue Credit Card

How Did We Determine Our AMEX Points Value?

We have published our estimated points value to help New Zealand Membership Rewards customers understand the value of their points. In doing so, our estimates make several assumptions:
  1. One dollar of the voucher (e.g. New World, Air New Zealand Airpoint or petrol voucher) equates to one dollar.
  2. For partner airline transfers, value is found in business and first class flights, and we assume seats to be available. We have used year-round advance purchase business class airfares to London as a value basepoint. 
 
The Value of AMEX Points - Our Conclusion:
  • The following assumes you have a card earning 2 points for every $1 spent:​ The current value of one Amex point is between around 0.5 cents (when used for statement credit) to 4-10 cents (when transferred to certain airline partners and redeemed for selected hotels and business class flights on specific airlines). 
  • Not all airline transfer partners offer the same transfer rate – Singapore Airlines, for example, offers a 3:1 point transfer rate, whereas Qantas offers 2:1.
  • If maximising AMEX points value sounds too complicated, you can always redeem them for supermarket vouchers, petrol vouchers, credit card annual fee discounts or even a statement credit, however we argue the value is far inferior to anyone using the points for luxury-focused awards.
Related guides: